Scoring or cutting balloons are used in angioplasty procedures to open or dilate vessels constricted by stenosis, fibrous or calcified matter and so on.
These balloons are used to cut into and break off the obstructing material which may then be collected, for instance by a suitable filter device, by aspiration and so on.
There are compromises with the designs of many known cutting balloons, including needing to retain longitudinal flexibility to enable the balloon to pass through tortuous vasculature during its introduction into the patient and to be able to be used in curved parts of a vessel. Often, such balloons also need to be operated at high pressures in order to be able to apply adequate cutting force on the stenotic material. High pressure can lead to increased risk of tearing of the balloon.
Some prior art cutting or scoring balloons are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,662,163, US-2009/0192537, U.S. Pat. No. 7,172,609, U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,572, U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,158, US-2006/0135980, US-2005/0288629 and US-2006/0178685.